UI/UX Articles and Interesting Tidbits of the Week
April//12//2019
Here are some interesting finds on UI/UX of the week!
Great article hailing from Usability Geek, focused on the importance of A/B Testing. The article details how to successfully accomplish these engagements, including requirements, and provides useful examples based on case studies.
A/B Testing is, of course, one of the most well known Quantitative User Research Methods, which also includes, among others, Tree Testing, Card Sorting, Surveys/Questionnaires, Desirability Studies, and Eyetracking Testing, to name but a few. Highlight of the article includes:
“To conduct an A/B test that will allow you to conclude, you will need a hypothesis, a controlled test, and an altered test.
The controlled test is often called ‘Test A’ and that will give you data to compare your altered test against. The altered test is often called ‘Test B’ and this is the test where you implement whatever change you think will be impactful.
By setting up an A/B test in this manner, you will be able to conclude a hypothesis. Over time, your conclusions will allow you to understand better what users like and do not like.
In this way, you will obtain valuable data with limited risk. Then, of course, you can use this information to optimise UX.”
Impeccable article from Smashing Magazine focused on Privacy concerns, but also ethical design solutions. It’s an article based on extensive research conducted by the author, filled with immense insight, and devoting particular attention to forms and the information captured from them.
The article goes into the details of how forms are built, across multiple platforms, why and which information to procure from users, and ultimately also shares the need for clarity that should be provided when asking the users for such information. Highlight of the article includes:
“While it’s been a good practice to avoid optional input fields and ask only for the information required to complete the form, in the real world web forms are often poisoned with seemingly random questions that appear absolutely irrelevant in the user’s context.
The reason for this isn’t necessarily malicious in intent, but rather technical debt, as the site might be using a site-wide component for all forms, and it simply doesn’t allow for enough flexibility to fine-tune the forms appropriately.
For example, when asking the user for their name, we’ve become accustomed to breaking a full name into first name and family name in our forms, sometimes with a middle name in between.
From a technical perspective, it’s much easier to save structured data this way, but when asking for a person’s name in a real-life conversation we hardly ever ask specifically for their first name or last name — instead we ask for their name.
In some countries, such as Indonesia, the last name is very uncommon, and in others, a middle name is extremely rare. Hence, combining the input into a single “Full name” input field seems most plausible, yet in most web forms out there, it’s rarely the case.”
E-mails/Newsletters are crucial elements in establishing relationships with users/clients/customers.
This article from Web Designer Depot provides relevant insights into how to devise and build E-mails that are accessible, and connect with the target audiences effectively (the article details considerations with copy, images, colors, fonts, coding, and testing tools). Highlight of the article includes:
“If you are creating an accessible email, the imagery should not contain the text that conveys the core message of the email.
Even if you decide to use text in the images, write illustrative copy. GIFs are being used in emails extensively but you should refrain from designing animated GIFs that flash repeatedly, lest they trigger photo-sensitive seizures in some users; use a GIF that stops after three cycles or within five seconds.
Never forget to add a suitable alt attribute inside each <img> tag. For example: Add the company name as the alternative text for the logo.”
Thanks for reading!
